Tag: Life

Christian Living

5 Reasons We Make Bad Choices

Chris

Every day is full of decisions. Some are simple and have little effect on what happens next or what happens a year from now. Others are so important they can change the direction of our lives forever.

Bad decisions have a way of setting life on a path of difficulty and pain. When we feel the pain early into the journey we are quick to make changes to get back to safety. We change jobs, end relationships, ask forgiveness from God and others.

But how do we get started down those trails of bad decisions and the scars they leave in and on our lives? Is there a way to avoid these pitfalls on our journey?

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Faith

How Our Decision Making Processes Were Rewritten

Chris

It is a scary thing to realize you have driven on autopilot for an unknown length of time. I’m talking about starting at Point A, and you know you have to pass Points B, C, and D, before arriving at Point E. Autopilot is realizing you left Point A, saw Point B, but suddenly find yourself somewhere between Points D and E.

Yes, that has really happened to me. No, I wasn’t drinking or high. Sometimes I was tired. Other times my mind was occupied on other things and never noticed what was happening around me.

Life is busy and full of demands on our attention. There is so much we do not take the time to think about before doing or saying what the moment seems to require of us. We have preferences and tendencies programmed into our hearts and minds to keep is headed where they take us.

Where did those default settings come from? Is my life running on autopilot with those settings driving the car? Am I sure the default programming will take me where I want to go?

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Christian Living, Faith

The Fine Line: Tearing Down Government Leaders

Chris

Today marks 100 days since President Joe Biden took office. Media will be posting all types of statistics to help shape our personal opinion of the President, some of them based on the opinions of others.

It’s a tempting today for people to jump online and look for ways to fill their social media ammunition buckets. There will be posts to rave about the President and others to tear him down. Comparisons will be made to past leaders. Fact-checkers will be busy proving and disproving stats. And President Biden will be judged against the promises he made while campaigning.

Which side will Christians be on? Both. Unfortunately, we will join the masses in picking political fights, debating and arguing with each other, all with the name of Jesus attached to us.

I defined the idea of The Fine Line we walk as Christians a little while back. Here is a great example of it in action. Choosing whether or not to tear down our government leaders.

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Christian Living

The Fine Line

Chris

To be a Christian is not easy. There is a constant battle between who we could be and who we should be, what to desire and what to turn away from. No one of us is perfect and yet God calls us to strive for it.

At times we walk along a fine line and have to choose a side to fall on. Culture makes us choose. Work makes us choose. Maybe it is family or friends. In a world constantly flipping over or twisting around us, it could simply be the gnawing in our guts driving us to pick a side.

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Christian Living

The “Magic” of Christmas (4) ~ Possibilities

Chris

Surprise. Wonder. To see a great magic trick is an enjoyable experience. It sparks something inside of us. And we want to see more.

This is why a great magic act builds to a grand finale. Start with a few basic tricks, some of the familiar ones, and add a little personal flair or twist to them. Move on to the more complicated and test the boundaries of what people know and expect. But to finish off, give them something to blow their minds and leave them wondering and wanting more.

What about Christmas? The birth of Jesus was not the end of anything. It was not the limit of God’s power to send His Son to become one of us. This impossible move was the opening act, leaving open the door of possibilities.

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Christian Living

The “Magic” of Christmas (3) ~ Wonder

Chris

Every magic trick worth its time leaves us staring. “Wait. What? What just happened?”

Instant replays on television shows like America’s Got Talent help us look at it a second or third time, and sometimes from different angles. But we can’t figure it out. We are amazed and left wondering.

After hearing the shepherds in the streets or finding them at their front door, the residents of Bethlehem must have wondered afterwards, “What just happened? Those guys are all stirred up and it sounds crazy. What does all of this mean?”

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